hi folks.
the annual report will be out in a month or 2 and was wondering what you think the current state of affairs for the org will be.. i am not expecting a decrease - but would love to see one.
as is normal each year a few countries will be showing a decline.. i know in a few congs near me that quite a number of pubs are going out less - a gradual slow down.
Can some helpful poster direct me to the thread that has the worldwide details of the latest annual report for 2007 (the one that is to be published in the Februaru 2008 Our Kingdom Ministry and the 2008 Yearbook).
Can I echo this????? I want to see the report !!!
Poppy
we just had a horrible episode in our back yard.
as most of you know i have two warlock dobermans.
they are very large and powerful.
sorry to throw the cat amongst the pigeons, but no dog should be kept on a leash AT ALL TIMES! They need to run and play and have loads of exercise, it's simply not fair. And if your dog cant be trusted around other dogs... then that's you as the owners fault.
I have owned many dogs, and properly socialised them all, now I only have one, but he runs off the lead (on the fields not the footpath!) absolutely no problem, comes back immediately when called and has never had a fight.
When I see anxious owners grabbing their dogs and shackling them back up.. then i know the dog senses straight away that the other dog must be a threat.. why would their owner be concerned otherwise? This conditions them to be aggressive when they see another dog approaching.
In your own back yard, is a different story, dogs are, and should be territorial, and if someone climbed over my fence, I hope my dog would bite him! But come in through the front door, or meet you on the street, no problems, because he knows those things are perfectly normal interactions.
Poppy
finally the guys side of the story.
(please note all are #1 for a reason.
1> men are not mind readers .
1> Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
This is so true, women will just listen and nod and realise you only needed to talk then you feel better..
My man is immediately working out before I've even finished my sentence how I need to handle 'this situation'!
Poppy
so here i was at the meeting tonight bored out of my mind.
i look at the bottom of page 2 of my km and it says c.i.
woody christian congregation president w.h.
I dont know.. but bttt cos I'd like to!
Poppy
on recent a thread a poster here discussed about having discovered his daughter was gay.
whilst reading this my 11 year old son was looking over my shoulder, and reading along with me, some of the discussion was quite adult but respectful .
so i began thinking what age would you discuss these things?
I think there have been some great comments posted here!
As mother to two teenage boys in UK I too have noticed they use the word 'GAY' a lot as an insult, "you're gay", "that top is gay", "going to the meeting is gay"..
I think to a degree it was picking it up from other kids, not really understanding what it means. But at 11, I'm sure your son has some idea, I think as has been said the important thing is to ensure he knows you'll love him regardless of his choices. And I haven't discussed the ins and outs (excuse pun!) with my boys, but I have said that science shows most Gay people can no more choose to be straight than you can choose your own sex, it's just the way the brain works.
I think kids brought up in the WT can be more judgemental than most, so I am hopefully undoing some of that!
Poppy
over the past few days... someone who i'm no longer associated with has been out on vendetta to discredit me.
it started with a mass mail to my myspace friends, which caused nothing more than a few eyebrows to be raised.
that was the reaction of people who know me in real life.
You all remind me of a bunch of JWs, disfollowshipping one of your own for some ridiculous reason - move on and stop judging
Unlike JWs, this is a public discussion, just like the elders at the gate, which is how things SHOULD be done, both sides are being heard, all opinions are listened to, if not agreed with. No verdict is handed down, and nobody is not being spoken to. Nobody has been disfellowshipped, if you have bothered to read the posts you will see most people offer support and concern and a warm welcome back. Nothing like the JWs, what a ridiculous comparison. Poppy
i finally was able to order crisis of conscience.. not at a bad price either.
b&n was able to order and allow me to pick it up in about a week.
no shipping cost!
You'll love the book, It was the first one I ordered and I didn't take it all in the first time I read it.
As to your second question.. hmm, that one is so tough, and most here struggle with relatives, friends and immediate family still in. I think anything too direct will bring the barriers right up, get them to think and question if possible. Just ask a question and leave it hanging, such as "when I did some research on the fall of babylon, strangely I found out that ONLY Jws believe it happened in 607"
But it's a thankless task, many times you will get questioned straight away as to where you got your information!
All the best
Poppy
my jw friend and i had a conversation.. it seems she received an anonymous letter from an "apostate" person.
explaining why they left the wts.. of course, this person must have left the jws to pursue a deviate lifestyle.
since there weren't a bunch of sited bible verses to substantiate her claims, my jw friend is trying to dismiss it all as a sour person who thinks they missed having a childhood, due to over-zealous jw parents who were supposedly "too strict".. she comented that had this person given good biblical reasons as to why she left, and supported those reasons biblically--then she might be more inclined to take the letter seriously.. now, i know this is a bunch of bs.
At our recent apostanoodle in London, it became clear to me that for everyone it's something different.
For me the 607 thing was HUGE as was the NGO. for others it is the policy on child abuse etc. I find it difficult to sum up why I dont believe any more to my JW relatives without getting into a huge debate... and never winning because they have a brainwashed answer to everything.
For my son, the thing that cracked it for him was when I asked him what he thought about the flood, ie animals and babies drowning and God looking down and thinking that was good. This God that was supposed to love these people like I love my children. Then I compared that to today and all these billions of people having to die so that God could prove he was right..
Strangely out of all my arguments, it was that one that really made him think (animals I think!)
Poppy
i read how certain ones will profess their "love" for another poster---a poster that they probably never met in "real life".
is it me or does this strike you as almost impossible??
?
What's so impossible about loving someone you never met?
I wouldn't say it's impossible.. But in my experience, it's easy to come across online as quite different to how you are unedited in real life! I have met lots of people in real life that I have talked to online, and almost all have been great, but almost all have been a lot different to how I expected, or how they had portrayed themselves.
That's not to say you cant love someone you have never met, but I dont think it's the real, lets get married love deal, it's a different form, no doubt there is a hebrew or greek word for it!
Poppy
over the past few days... someone who i'm no longer associated with has been out on vendetta to discredit me.
it started with a mass mail to my myspace friends, which caused nothing more than a few eyebrows to be raised.
that was the reaction of people who know me in real life.
I take some of these comments and nod my head, I hated the fact on that thread they accused you of basically being a product of this board, as if you had never had an opinion of your own. And I said that. As you said, with or without this board you would be out and away from the WT.
Unfortunately though, you are a victim of being made a celebrity, We love to build people up, support the underdog etc, then as soon as they appear to have it all, then we get out the knives and start shootin them down again! You became a bit of a hero, and so attracted a lot of attention, I think if someone posted about me and my job, it would hardly warrant a response!
I can understand your indignation, but in time I think you will understand people on the board are still smarting from the whole trev/Linda thing and unfortunately some genuine posters have suffered in the crossfire of suspicion. You could be one of them.
I hope you continue to post, as I said.. I loved your WT comments, and that is ultimately what we are all here for. But if you dont, I understand.
I wish you well
Poppy
